Turns Out, Houston Really Does Have Worse Traffic Than Dallas

It doesn't look it here, but LBJ is the second most congested roadway in the state, right behind I-35 W in Fort Worth.

TxDOT

Over the weekend, the Texas Department of Transportation released its list of the Texas' 100 most congested roadways, which breaks the news that LBJ, Woodall Rogers, and Central Expressway? All really congested.

You knew that already, but did you know that drivers on the stretch of LBJ between Central and I-35 are delayed by 2.7 million hours every year? Or that traffic on Central between 635 and downtown costs $104.45 million annually? Probably not.

Those are interesting enough statistics, but you might wonder what, precisely, the point is of compiling what amounts to a compendium of the state's most hellacious commutes. TxDOT explains in its press release:

"One of the best ways to keep Texas moving is to identify those roadways causing the most delays," said Phil Wilson, TxDOT Executive Director. "Results from this annual study validate our approach to moving aggressively with our priority projects in Texas to address congestion and help Texans get to and from work and help them easily and safely move around our great state."

The 100 Most Congested Roadways clearly illustrates the severity and extent of the Lone Star State's traffic problem. Results show 40 percent of the delay encountered by drivers takes place in the top 20 roadways on the list. Additionally, the total delay in hours - more than 137 million hours - carries with it an economic cost in lost time and wasted fuel of nearly $3 billion.

Another reason: to settle the age-old debate between Dallas and Houston over which has the worst traffic with actual numbers rather than the volume of whining. And while 635 is more heavily clogged than anything Houston has to offer, the Bayou City wins, hands down. Houstonians wasted 29 million hours in traffic on roadways there, costing $1.06 billion. In Dallas, the numbers were 20 million and $777 million, respectively. Just goes to show.